Review Detail

HURRICANE SEASON is a powerful middle grade novel that deals with some really important issues. Finola (nicknamed Fig) is in sixth grade. She has lived with her father only since she was born and her mother left. Her father is a famous musician, but he stopped composing around the time she was born- he still tries, but he is not able to finish the pieces. He is also eccentric, and as we learn later, mentally ill.

Fig wants to understand her father, why he is drawn to the hurricanes and wants to stand on the shore in New Jersey, where they live, and watch them come in. She is more mathematically and scientifically inclined, but she signs up for art as an elective to try to understand her father better. It is this class that her father barges into searching for her desperately and that leads the teacher to call Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P). Fig now wants to understand her father more than ever and convince CP&P that they are okay together.

In her search, Fig learns about Vincent Van Gogh, and seeks more information about him, noting all the parallels between Van Gogh and her father. At the library, a high school girl helps her to find books and information about Van Gogh, and Fig begins to notice something else about herself- she is attracted to the girl who works at the library. Holding all the pieces of her life together, Fig is beautifully crafted and real, and readers will whole-heartedly fall in love with her.

This is a beautiful story of healing, hope, and connection that will reach out and touch your heart. I recommend for middle grade and older readers- the messages and storylines in this book will appeal to a broad audience. The portrayal of mental illness is really well done, and I appreciate that we also see the healing. The connections of community and interweaving of art into the story is just lovely. This is a powerful story set around hurricane season that does a fantastic job of dealing with mental illness and LGBT/coming-out in a young and well-crafted character. I highly recommend for readers of middle grade contemporary novels.